Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique for the determination of the elemental composition of a sample or molecule. It is also used for elucidating the chemical structures of molecules, such as peptides and other chemical compounds. The MS principle consists of ionizing chemical compounds to generate charged molecules or molecule fragments and measurement of their mass-to-charge ratios (m/z).
Mass spectrometry can be coupled with other analytical techniques such as gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, etc., allowing for analysis and separation of a mixture of compounds.
Various mass spectrometry techniques include gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS), tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), etc.